Parents with kids entering kindergarten next September need to register their children now.
The Vancouver School Board has a new system that’s meant to streamline registration and provide the district more information about parents’ choices.
Before a parent can register a child for a “choice” program such as French immersion or make a cross-boundary application, they must first register at their catchment school.
Registration started Nov. 1 and runs until Jan. 31. Parents must download the school registration form and bring it along with other necessary documents to their neighbourhood English school.
If the neighbourhood school doesn’t have space for all of the catchment students, a lottery will be held for student placement in February.
Once they’ve registered at their catchment school, parents can sign their children up for up to three choice programs from Jan. 10 to 31.
This limit is new.
“What we were finding is parents would go register at eight or nine different schools and what it would do is create all kinds of different problems from an enrolment projection point of view and a delivery point of view,” said VSB vice chair Mike Lombardi.
Acting associate superintendent Valerie Overgaard told the Courier last month the VSB has heard that if parents don’t get their child into their program of choice, they move on to a private school and the VSB wants to see whether this is true.
Popular choice programs may hold a lottery for student placement. Parents should learn in February whether their child has a space in a desired school or program.
Lombardi said the system will help the school board see more clearly which choice programs are most popular and will help with future planning.
In addition to French immersion, the board offers Mandarin bilingual, International Baccalaureate, Montessori, aboriginal focus and fine arts mini schools or programs.
Cross-boundary applications can be made from Feb. 15 to March 1. Out-of-catchment kids will be eligible only after children within the catchment have been considered.
Parents with a child born outside of Canada need to complete the initial kindergarten registration at the VSB District Reception and Placement Centre.
For more information, see vsb.bc.ca/kindergarten.
Another 100th
John Norquay elementary will celebrate its centennial Nov. 21 from 4 to 7 p.m. at 4710 Slocan St. with opening remarks at 4 p.m. Participants are requested to register by Nov. 15 and to bring canned or dry goods to the event for the food bank. Register at the school, by phone 604-713-4666, fax 604-713-4668 or email [email protected]. For more information, see norquay.vsb.bc.ca
Open Textbooks
First and second year post-secondary students can access free textbooks. BCcampus has completed the first phase of a project to see 40 online open textbooks for instructors and students enrolled in first- and second-year courses. So far, 15 open textbooks have been made available. BCcampus is a publicly funded organization working on behalf of the Ministry of Advanced Education. For more information, see: open.bccampus.ca.
